I. ˈment ə l adjective
Etymology: Middle English, from Middle French, from Late Latin mentalis, from Latin ment-, mens mind + -alis -al — more at mind
1. : of or relating to mind: as
a. : relating to the integrated activity of an organism ; specifically : relating to the total emotional and intellectual response of an organism to its environment
the role played by the comics in the mental life of the children — Winfred Overholser
found him in a terrible mental state — very depressed and even panicky
the mental set of an individual
b. : of or relating to intellectual as contrasted with emotional activity : of or relating to the process or mode of thought or capacity for thought
free from any mental defects
racial explanations of the mental character of the Greeks — Benjamin Farrington
note what mental level you are on with that person — W.J.Reilly
mental exertions
c. : of, relating to, or being intellectual as contrasted with overt physical activity
mental work
made swift mental calculations
d. : occurring or experienced in the mind : not voiced or given other sensory expression : inner
mental reservations
filled it for him, under mental protest — George Meredith
refusal to shape either the words or the mental images of prayer — Frank Yerby
mental anguish
e. : relating to or concerned with mind, its activity, or its products as an object of study : relating to or concerned with ideology : ideological
exercised a great influence on the philosophy of history, the study of jurisprudence, politics, and indeed on all the mental sciences — Frank Thilly
the whole of mental science — William James
f. : relating to or being spirit or idea as opposed to matter : immaterial , spiritual , ideal
the distinction between physical things and mental ideas — J.W.Yolton
your mind is mental , but that which you perceive with your senses is also mental — Encore
2.
a.
(1) : of, relating to, or affected by mental deficiency or any of a variety of psychiatric disorders
a mental patient
a mental case
(2) : wacky , crazy
are mental from birth … and every so often go quite round the bend — Rose Macaulay
anyone who isn't mental can see it's a bowl — Anthony West
— often used in the phrase go mental
was going a bit mental from old age — Nevil Shute
when people go mental they nearly always turn against their nearest … relations — Rosamond Lehmann
b. : intended for or devoted to the care or treatment of persons affected by psychiatric disorders
a mental hospital
the qualified psychiatric nurse in Britain is officially registered as a registered mental nurse — Trained Nurse & Hospital Review
3. : relating to or marked by possession or display of telepathic, mind-reading, or other occult powers
set up the stage for the mental act — W.L.Gresham
the greatest mental medium of all time — Hereward Carrington
Synonyms:
intelligent , intellectual , cerebral , psychic : mental indicates a connection with or emphasis on the mind as a center of rational activity; it contrasts matters emotional or physical
she writes straight from the emotions; nothing mental ever gets in her way — Anita Loos
if from any bodily or mental defect the eldest son is disqualified for ruling — J.G.Frazer
completed the banishment of natural appearances from the art of painting, substituting therefor a mental world of geometrical derivatives — F.J.Mather
intelligent indicates a degree of mental power enabling a person or animal to appraise a situation and make a variety of sound or acceptable decisions; it often contrasts with stupid or silly
intelligent self-interest should lead to a careful consideration of what the road is able to do without ruin — O.W.Holmes †1935
friends who were a little more intelligent and would understand — John Hersey
intellectual may indicate connection with the higher powers of the mind; it may contrast with emotional and may suggest a noticeable scope, depth, or complexity
words have an emotional and imaginative, as well as an intellectual context — J.L.Lowes
a scientist is known not by his technical processes but by his intellectual processes — F.W.Peabody
intellectual may suggest an accustomed or lasting concern with higher challenges to the intellect rather than the acumen displayed in a particular decision
less intellectual and therefore more intelligent in his approach — Edgar Smith
cerebral may suggest cold, analytic intellectual activity or inclination, to the exclusion of the emotional or sensuous
wrote about Catholicism from the cerebral slant of the converted intelligentsia — Book-of-the-Month Club News
psychic suggests reference to the psyche, the inner self, and guides the reader away from notions of the physical, physiological, or organic
not materialist but psychic factors are the decisive forces of history — Time
I don't accept the idea of psychic diseases analogous to mental diseases — Compton Mackenzie
II. noun
( -s )
: a mentally disordered person
no mentals had occurred for a hundred years or more — Magazine of Fantasy & Science Fiction
III. adjective
Etymology: Latin ment um chin + English -al; akin to Welsh mant mouth, lip, Latin mont-, mons mountain — more at mount
: of or relating to the chin, the median part of the lower jaw, or the mentum of an insect : genial
IV. noun
( -s )
: a plate, scale, or shield (of a fish or reptile) occurring in the mental area